Wheel Bearing Maintenance

[Yeller]

Let’s all admit it we ignore what is working until it doesn’t or until we say to ourselves “been a very long time need to look at this”. Wheel bearings are a prime example, not making noise and smooth they are good to go right? Maybe, maybe not. I do try every couple of years to repack the wheel bearings on my trailers and bronco. This time it is my bronco trailer, this particular trailer has 45,000 miles on it since its last service in 2019, well past due.

To start with I jacked the trailer up and removed the tires. Next I removed the dust caps, uhoh… water contamination on the passenger side, made its way past the dust cap some how. So at that point I stopped and went out to my dually and got my roadside wheel bearing kit to swipe a new set of bearings. I drove the races out with a screwdriver and hammer, as you can see the outer bearing has corrosion the inner was shiny like new but it got replaced as well, both driven in with the same screwdriver and hammer that removed them. I get it’s not the “correct” way but is “a way” and I have yet to have it cause a bearing failure.

 

[Yeller]

Next up is grease. I have this bearing packer that I’ve used for decades. It is a Lisle tool available at most parts stores and works exceptionally well. I like it because I can push the old grease out with new grease and not have to clean the bearings to like new condition before repacking, huge time saver and no risk of leaving solvent in the bearing reducing the effectiveness of your grease. Works the same on new bearings it just doesn’t push out the dirty grease. If I have any doubt in the condition of the bearing, throw it away and replace both the bearing and the race, it’s just not worth the risk.

Reassembly is pretty simple, drop the inner bearing in the back and drive the new seal in, then install the hub and outter bearing. Install the thrust washer and nut. Here’s where most have an error on trailers, they over tighten the nut. Tighten the nut with a wrench, spin the hub and check again. Back the nut off, tighten it again with your fingers, back off 1/8th of a turn, install the nut retainer, this axle uses a clip, some use a cotter pin. If the nut needs to turn to install the retainer, loosen the nut more, do not make it tighter. Reinstall the dust cap.

Reinstall the tires. This is critical, use a torque wrench unless you have done this thousands of times and feel comfortable, as I do. This trailer has 9/16” wheel studs so they get torqued to 140 Ft lbs. DO NOT run them on with the impact and call it good. This can cause a couple of things, one, they might not be tight enough allowing the wheel to fall off going down the road. The other is the nuts may be too tight causing them to fatigue and break or break removing them on the side of the road changing that flat tire, or not be able to get them loose.

Take the time, you can do this. Besides potential damage to your precious possessions, you potentially could kill someone if a bearing fails and the wheel departs from your trailer on the highway, all bad scenarios.

 

[bmc69]

Grew up on a farm. Bearing maintenance was second to religion. In all the 50 years I've been running 100s of trucks, cars, trailers, not one wheel bearing failure...ever.

 

[56f100bbw]

Grew up on a farm. Bearing maintenance was second to religion. In all the 50 years I've been running 100s of trucks, cars, trailers, not one wheel bearing failure...ever.

I am over kill on that too don’t wanna get stranded on a trip

 

[Yeller]

I’ve made sure to never have a problem

Have a complete hub, bearings, seals, caps, retaining hardware, 1” die to rethread the spindle and a can of grease to put it all back together. I haven’t had any issues with mine other than needing ti replace them from water contamination, but a few race trailers I’ve been around, couldn’t keep enough parts on hand…. Got to where if I was going the bearings got packed if it was done last week, problem finally got under control, wound up being the sponsor shop doing the work, shouldn’t have been got them tuned up and the problems went away. But I still remember that and have enough parts for this trailer to always get home.

 

[Seventee]

I used to work at a trailer sales/service store. We used the same Lisle packer - I also have my own. Cheap trick is to use your non-running drill press like an arbor press to push the packer down. Easy peasy and if you get good you can do four wheels in an hour.

Trailer maintenance is the most often overlooked subject I think I've ever seen.

 

[Yeller]

I used to work at a trailer sales/service store. We used the same Lisle packer - I also have my own. Cheap trick is to use your non-running drill press like an arbor press to push the packer down. Easy peasy and if you get good you can do four wheels in an hour.

Trailer maintenance is the most often overlooked subject I think I've ever seen.

Yes you can, we have 24 trailer hubs to do, 6 down 18 to go lol.

 

[FordBronc]

And for all those super busy people out there, that do not have the time for all that. Get a set of bearing buddies, squirt grease, load Bronco, kick check tires and keep on trucking. Come on now, you know I am kidding about most of that statement. But seriously, check out some bearing buddies.

https://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Tr...YS3maaTIAJpVa31x_kdw9G5uFMdkbNToaAoRIEALw_wcB

https://www.bearingbuddy.com/

I will listen to talk about why bearing buddies are bad, if some one has a difference of opinion. School me.

 

[Seventee]

Personally, I don't like bearing buddys. They are a poor excuse for lack of maintenance and people over grease them and blow seals out. Especially with boat trailers.

 

[bax]

If you carry all the spare parts, you never have a problem. Its when you dont have the parts when shit happens

 

[FordBronc]

Personally, I don't like bearing buddys. They are a poor excuse for lack of maintenance and people over grease them and blow seals out. Especially with boat trailers.

I can see where they could support a lack of proper maint, or make it easy to over due the lubing process. Especially with a Milwaukee M18 grease gun involved. Point duely noted.

 

[Yeller]

I can see where they could support a lack of proper maint, or make it easy to over due the lubing process. Especially with a Milwaukee M18 grease gun involved. Point duely noted.

I agree, grease doesn’t just go away, it has to leak, usually all over your brakes. In my opinion they also provide a level of comfort and you may not check them as often as you should and miss the water contamination that I found.

You can barely make out the grease fitting in the pic, this axle is designed to work the same way. The spindle is gun drilled and pushes grease through the bearings by pushing against the seal through the bearings. All I’ve seen them do is grease the inner bearing a little and push the seal out greasing the brakes and nothing for the outer bearing and in my experience the one that fails the most often.

That grease fitting is why there is a rubber plug in the dust cap

 

[FordBronc]

Got it, thanks.

 

[.94 OR]

My understanding of the bearing buddies is you are keeping pressure on the grease that is on the outside of the outer bearing, hoping there is enough pressure to push grease through the rollers of the outer bearing, through the void between the bearings (assuming it is 100% packed with grease), then to exert enough force to push grease into the inner bearing while not forcing the seal out the back.

Or is it more of way to fill the void between the dust cap and outer bearing so water doesn't have a place to hide?

 

[Yeller]

My understanding of the bearing buddies is you are keeping pressure on the grease that is on the outside of the outer bearing, hoping there is enough pressure to push grease through the rollers of the outer bearing, through the void between the bearings (assuming it is 100% packed with grease), then to exert enough force to push grease into the inner bearing while not forcing the seal out the back.

Or is it more of way to fill the void between the dust cap and outer bearing so water doesn't have a place to hide?

In a perfect world you are correct, but they seem to push the seal out quite readily, greasing the brakes and letting contaminants in due to the seal letting go. The axle in this particular trailer is designed to push grease the opposite direction and they suffer from the same dilemma, pushing the seal out. So spending the hour to repack them is really the right way. Seals are cheap on amazon, I buy them in bulk.

 

[blubuckaroo]

Yeller, I grew up on a cotton farm. Back then the cotton was hauled to the gin in trailers rather than field storing it in modules like they do these days. One of my tasks was to service the wheel bearings on our twelve cotton trailers. My Dad taught me how. He took me out with two five gallon cans. One with wheel bearing grease, and the other with gasoline. He carefully knocked the seal out using a ball peen hammer and long brass drift, so the seal could be reused. No packer, he hand packed the bearings. Bearing adjustment was done with a 12 inch crecent wrench, spinning the wheel and tightening, then backing it off for just the right feel.
Our Bronco now has over 300,000 miles on the original front wheel bearings. It gets a wheel bearing clean and pack along with gear oil change, and complete brake flush and bleed after every trout season. I have to do a number of deep stream crossings to get to my fishing hole.

 

[jannick]

You're right to admit that we often ignore what's working until it doesn't. Wheel bearings are a prime example, as they can be easily overlooked until they start making noise or failing.

It's good that you make an effort to repack your wheel bearings every couple of years, especially on your trailer, which has been well past due for service.

I'm glad to hear that you were able to replace the wheel bearings at Tradebearings.com on your trailer using a screwdriver and hammer. While it's not the "correct" way to do it, it is a way to do it, and it sounds like you've been successful in the past.

 

[nvrstuk]

Grew up on a farm. Bearing maintenance was second to religion. In all the 50 years I've been running 100s of trucks, cars, trailers, not one wheel bearing failure...ever.

Same here. No farm back then, but my Dad was a maintenance fanatic. NEVER had a failure from lack of maintenance and he put on 184K miles on his Bronco.

I run boat trailers so every year they get pulled.

Great write up & article Steve. If I'm travelling with somebody I always ask them if they've pulled the hubs and brgs. That's a given for a trip!

Like Blubuckaroo I have over 250,000 miles on my front end wheel brgs without every replacing them in my D44. (D44 has been gone 7yrs now)

I don't understand guys that haul their EB's 1,000 miles for a once a year wheeling trip but haven't done ANY maintenance or driven the dang thing in the year since their last trip... Stuff can break or fail at any time but to subject your wheeling buddies because of your unwillingness to do maintenance and becoming "THAT GUY" ... oh well...

 

[nvrstuk]

I put a "newer style" Brg Buddy on my boat trailer axles 2 yrs ago. Best thing I've done.

It didn't matter what brand of seal but after every dunkin' of the boat, water would enter the hubs of the boat trailer. The newer (at least to me) style of brg buddy seems to work better than the old ones that I used to sell back in the '70's. Like Steve was saying, grease everywhere! lol

Time will tell, 2 yrs isn't long so I might be pulling these but for 2 yrs so far so good.

 

[Yeller]

Had a good reminder of this. Traveling with a good friend this week that is known to prep everything like a race car. Had a bearing failure on his trailer. Even with proper maintenance sometimes you’re just that guy. We managed to remove the hub and limp the 40 miles to the next town and get it fixed but it ate up 3 hours making a 12 hour day a 15 hour day.

Moral is remember to pack your spare parts, he set his out to load and forgot. The other is confirm they fit, this particular hub used a different inner bearing. we learned there are 2 different 3500# inner bearings and what he had wouldn’t have fit anyway. Be prepared and it makes things easier when it does happen